|
The
performance of the Group in 2001 confirms that our strategy of maintaining
global leadership in the core foundations businesses, while expanding
our range of specialist services, continues to deliver benefits
for the Company, its shareholders and its employees.
The past year
has been highly successful for Keller: these excellent results show
that the Group’s impressive track record has been restored;
we have completed a major acquisition of a niche business in an
expanding market; and we have extended our range of specialist services
and our geographical reach, both through the successful integration
of bolt-on acquisitions made during 2000 and 2001 and through the
increasing acceptance of Keller techniques.
These results reflect record performances in North America, combined
with a good performance in Europe and a strong rebound in Australia.
Conditions in our major markets
The construction industry in North America remained strong and we
experienced infrastructure spending at an all time high, with no
slowdown since the events of 11 September. In most of our key European
markets, conditions were good, offset to some extent by weakness
in Germany and Austria. The UK refurbishment sector, in which Makers
operates, continued to be buoyant. The Far East was strong, whilst
the Middle East was subdued.
The Group has demonstrated a degree of insulation from weaknesses
in individual construction markets. In part, this is due to our
broad geographical spread, which means that we face a variety of
market conditions in any one year. It also reflects the mix of schemes
in which we are involved. With around 20% to 30% of our work in
remediation or refurbishment
and a further 20% to 30% in public infrastructure, a significant
proportion of our work is unaffected by volatility in the private
construction sector.
|
|
Strategic
developments
In our last Annual Report, we stated our commitment to the expansion
of our range of specialist services as we continue to strengthen
our position as an international market leader in foundation services.
Throughout our ongoing evaluation of potential acquisitions, we
have focused, in particular, on providers of specialist, value-added
services to the construction industry which are leaders in their
target markets and offer opportunities for growth.
On 1 October 2001, we acquired the business and assets of Suncoast
for $90m. Suncoast is a leading designer, fabricator and distributor
of post-tension cable systems to the construction industry in North
America. This acquisition represents a significant step in Keller’s
development, providing growth opportunities in new, specialist construction
services outside our traditional foundation services markets.
Suncoast, together
with Makers – our UK refurbishment and facilities management
business – and Wannenwetsch – a German specialist construction
service business in which we acquired a 49% stake in January 2002
– will form the basis of our new specialist services division.
We believe this new structure will encourage greater management
focus which should enable the parallel development and growth of
the foundations and specialist services businesses.
In November 2001, we acquired the assets of Catoh – a US, regional
geotechnical construction business specialising in heavy drilling
techniques. The performance and integration of acquisitions made
during the year are discussed in the following review of operations.
|
